Bumping post



` Sept. 11, 1962 s. w. HAYES 3,053,201

BUMPING POST Filed Aug. 4, 1959 1 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 OMV-@ inw-yi 60 62-4454; Hmm.. 784mllllhullm W" -7 62 #"uulimn 4, 7744454 444/445;

74744014, Kaemainem, /fzu/MMMMM Arma/Eff S. W. HAYES BUMPING POST sept. 11, l1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4, 1959 S. W. HAYES BUMPING POST Sept. l1, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 4. 1959 Ilumlmmw 3,053,201 BUMPING POST Stanley W. Hayes, near Richmond, Ind., assignor t Hayes Track Appliance Company, Richmond, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Aug. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 831,655 7 Claims. (Cl. 2104-254) The present invention relates to improvements in bumping posts and particularly bumping posts of the type in which a bumper head is supported substantially centrally between and above the rails by tension and compression means. The invention is an improvement over the bumping post of application Serial No. 784,734 tiled January 2, 1959 (now Patent No. 2,991,727) which is a continuationin-part of application Serial No. 431,978 tiled May 24, 1954, which, in turn, is a continuation-impart of application Serial No. 333,670, tiled January 8, 1953, the latter of which is now abandoned, all assigned to the assignee of this application.

The primary object of the present `invention is the provision of a new and improved bumping post of the cushion type in which the forces of impact are transmitted in the ymain to the road bed in such manner that there is no damage to the car or its lading or to the post or to the tra-ck and resulting in a minimum displacement of ties and ballast.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved bumping post which is adapted easily to be mounted relative to the rails for longitudinal I`movement along them and ywhich is provided with structure extending below the rails into abut-ting relation with the ties so that the forces of impact occurring when the bumping post is struck by a moving car or the like are transmitted to the road bed thereby to provide a cushion stop of the car.

Another object of the present linvention is to provide a new and improved bumping post so constructed and arranged that it will provide a cushioned stopping of a railway car striking i-t and which is less likely to tear up track than previous designs.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bumping post of a construction such that it can be installed with a minimum of labor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a `bumping post including a strong generally rectangular or quadrangular `foundation or base frame seated on the ties between a pair of adjacent rails and relatively loosely guidingly associated with adjacent rail heads.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bumping post of the character set forth in the preceding paragraph where means associating the bumping post with the rails are so constructed and arranged that installation can be readily effected even if there is some variation With distance between the rails or in rail height.

In brief, the bumping post of the present invention includes a bumper head supported by tension and cornpression members of which the former extend downwardly, forwardly, and divergently outwardly from the bumper head toward the rails and the latter extend downwardly, outwardly and rearwardly from the head. The lower ends of the tension and compression members are connected, as by welding, to a generally quadrangular or rectangular base frame constituted by front and rear cross members and longitudinally extending side members. The frame is of heavy construction and additional strength and rigidity are provided by a diagonal bracing structure located within the base frame and interconnecting the corners thereof. In the main, the bumping post seats upon and is supported by a number of cross ties upon which the frame rests. In addition, the post inicc cludes means preventing upward movement of the front end of the post and downward movement of the rear end under car Wheel impact and guidingly associating it with the rails. These means are located at each of the four corners of the post and extend outwardly from the frame. Each includes a generally horizontal plate extending over the top of the rail head and from which depend rail head embracing bolts with heads disposed below the rail head; These are designed but loosely and partially to encircle the rail head so that the post can be easily installed on tracks having different heights and gauges. Also, four dependent structures extending into the track bed are provided, two at the front and two at the rear, whereby forces of impact are better transmitted to the ties and ballast.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description of au illustrative embodiment thereof, in the course of which reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a side elevational View of the bumping post of the .present invention shown installed upon the track, the track being shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the post;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the post;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along line 5 5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational View; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are fragmentary vertical cross-sectional views taken along the lines 7-7 and 8-8 of FIG. 3 and FIG. 7, respectively.

Referring now to the drawings, the bumping post of the present invention as a whole is indicated by the reference character lll. It comprises a bumper head 12 supported slightly oit-center with respect to a pair of rails 14 which are suitably secured in conventional manner by spikes upon the cross ties 18 in the ballast 20.

The bumper head 12 is mounted at the upper ends of a pair of compression members 22, forming part of a compression unit indicated as a whole by the reference character 24, secured at their lower ends to a cross piece 26 of right angled section with horizontal and vertical flanges 26A and 26B and forming part of a generally rectangular or quadrangular base frame constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention and indicated as a whole by reference character 30. The bumper head is supported also by a pair of tension members 32 forming part of an integral tension unit 33, the bight 34 of which surrounds the bumper head and having their lower ends secured to a cross piece 36 also forming part of the base unit 30 and having horizontal and vertical anges 36A and 36B. The compression members diverge outwardly, downwardly and rearwardly from the bumper head and the tension members diverge outwardly, downwardly and forwardly from the bumper head. The tension and compression members are secured to the bumper head to provide a strong and rigid structure. As far as `the present invention is concerned, the bumper head and tension land compression units and the manner in which they are secured to each other may follow known art, the present invention having to do with the base unit and its relation to the track structure and the compression and tension units and by means of which the post 'as a Whole is slidably mounted relative to the rails.

The base frame or unit 30 includes also a pair of longitudinally extending side frame members 38 which like the cross members are formed of heavy right angled structures having horizontal and vertical flanges 38A and 38B and which are welded at their ends to the cross members and the lower ends of the tension and compression members. The primary connection of the lower ends of the compression and tension members is to the cross members 26 and 36, respectively, the lower ends being cut so as to overlie the upper sides of the horizontal anges of the cross members as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The corners of the bumping post are strengthened by the relatively heavy horizontal plates 40, there being one at each corner welded to the horizontal anges of the side and cross members `at the insides of the corners formed by them. The lower ends of the compression members are also strengthened by vertical end plates 42, welded to the ends of the members and upper side of the vertical ange 26B of cross member 26.

Additional rigidity is given to the post by a heavy cross brace structure indicated as a whole by the reference character 44 substantially in the plane of the end and side members of the base unit 30. It comprises a irst diagonal brace 46 and a second two-part diagonal brace, the two parts of which are indicated by reference characters 48A and 48B. The ends of the braces are secured to the plates 42 and the central parts are strengthened and joined to each other and to a horizontal generally rectangular plate 50.

The base frame 30 is of a size so that it seats upon the ties, as best shown in FIGURES 3, and 6. It is operatively and guidingly connected to the rails by suitable guiding and holding means constructed and arranged so that `the post is readily slidable relative to the rails, so that it can be installed on rails spaced apart somewhat different distances and having diilerent heights and which prevents upward movement of the front end of the post and downward movement of the rear end of the post under stopping impact.

The operative connection between the base and the rails is through holding and guiding means at each of the four corners of the base unit and each indicated by the reference character 52. The holding and guiding means '52 are of like construction so that only one will be described but the like parts of all will be indicated by the same reference characters. The holding and guiding means 52 includes a horizontal main plate 54 secured to the upper side of the vertical ange 38B of the side frame member 38 and to the upper side of a supporting and filler bar 56 secured as by welding to the upper side of the horizontal flange 38A. The flange 38B and ller bar 56 are interconnected at their `front end by a transverse iiller bar 58 as best shown in FIGURE 5. The main plate 54 is thus supported on what might be described as a boxlike construction at the corner which thus provides a strong support for the holding and guiding means and also serves to strengthen the corners of the bumping post.

The main plate 54 of the holding and guiding means has a length such that it projects beyond the outer side of the rail as clearly shown in FIGURES 2, 3, 6 and 7. A pair of rail head engaging bolts 60 are suspended from the projecting portion of the main plate so as to straddle the rail heads and with the bolt heads 62 spaced quite free and clear of the rail head. These bolts are suspended by means of the nuts 64 overlying the main plate. The bolts are left loose but the nuts are prevented from turning by 4a generally U-shaped bolt lock rotatably mounted in an apertured support 68, secured as by welding to the top plate between the bolts, so that the bolt lock can be moved between the nuts 64, thereby to prevent the latter from turning. Leaving the bolts loose with plenty of space between the bolt heads and the rail enables the bumping post to be mounted on tracks having somewhat different gauge and upon rails having different or varying heights. At the same time the bumping post is free to slide along a track under stopping impact.

The bolt heads 62 of the front holding and guiding means 52 prevent the front end of the bumping post from being moved upwardly an excessive amount. The rear end of the bumping post is prevented from moving downwardly by `the ties and also by the rear main plates 54 which rest upon the rail heads. The bolt heads 62 inside of the rails are located between and prevented from turning by generally triangular dependent plates 70 welded to the undersides of plates S4 and to the vertical flanges 38B. Trapezoidal braces 72 and 74 are welded to the edges of plates 54 and to the upper edges of anges 38B and plates 56 and 58.

The stopping impact is transmitted to the ties and ballast to provide a cushion stop by four thrust transmitting structures of like construction and each indicated by the reference character 76. Each of these is constituted by a horizontal support plate 78 of general triangular shape and having its base side welded to a vertical tlange of the associated tension or compression crosspiece. Each includes also a vertical dependent plate welded to the underside of the horizontal plate and to the vertical ange of the associated tension or compression crosspiece. A force distributing element 82 is disposed between the dependent plate for engagement by an associated tie.

It will be observed from the foregoing detailed description that the bumping post may be readily installed with a minimum of labor. The bumping post can be built of a complete unit ready for installation on the rails. Once it is placed on the rails, all that is necessary is that the bolts 60 be loosely secured as described above and the bumping post is then ready for immediate operation.

rI he coupling of a railroad car will strike the bumper at 12 and the car will be stopped in a cushioned manner by the bumping post which transmits the force of the impact to the ties and ballast. The bumping post which is seated upon the ties is moved along the ties and there is very little likelihood of damage either to the post or to the track. Installation can be made by a few men in less than an hour.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with the details of a particular embodiment, it should be understood that such details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except insofar as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Iclaim:

1. A bumping post for installation on track rails, including in combination, divergent compression and tension members having their lower ends adjacent the rails, a bumper head supported by said members, a generally rectangular frame located generally in the plane of the rails and seated upon the ties between the rails and secured at its corners to the compression and tension members, said frame including thrust transmitting structure adjacent its front and rear ends extending below the rails into engagement with rail supporting cross ties for transmitting the force of impact to the ties and ballast, and means at each corner of the frame loosely encircling the rail head for guidingly associating the post relative to the rails.`

2. A bumping post as claimed in claim l, wherein said means at each corner includes a supporting plate secured to the frame and extending outwardly beyond the top of the rail and a pair of bolts depending downwardly therefrom and each having a bolt head with a portion below the rail head.

3. A bumping post as claimed in claim 2 wherein the bolts are held by nuts above the supporting plate and movable means are mounted above the plate to prevent turning of the bolt holding nuts.

4. A bumping post for installation on track rails, including in combination, divergent compression and tension members having their lower ends adjacent the rails, a bumper head supported by said members, a generally rectangular frame located generally in the plane of the rails and seated upon the ties between the rails and secured at its corners to the compression and tension members, said frame including longitudinal members of right angled section arranged parallel to the rails, said frame also including thrust transmitting structure adjacent its front and rear ends extending below the rails into engagement with rail supporting cross ties `for transmitting the force yof impact to the ties land ballast, and means at each corner of the frame encircling the rail head for guidingly associating the post relative to the rails, each said last mentioned means including a supporting plate extending from the frame outwardly beyond the rail, and a vertical iiller plate secured above the horizontal flange of a longitudinal member in parallel spaced relation to the vertical flanges and said supporting plate being secured to the upper edges of the Vertical flange and iller plate.

5. A bumping post for installation on track rails, including in combination, divergent compression and tension members having their `lower ends adjacent the rails, a bumper hea-d supported by said members, a generally rectangular frame secured at its corners to the compression and tension members, said frame including longitudinal members of right angled section arranged parallel to the rails, said frame also including thrust transmitting structure extending below the rails into engagement with rail supporting cross ties for transmitting the force of impact to Ithe ties and ballast, and means at each corner of the frame encircling the rail head for guidingly associating the post relative to the rails, each said last mentioned means including a supporting plate extending from the trame outwardly beyond the rail, and a vertical ller plate secured above the horizontal flange of a longitudinal member in parallel spaced relation to the Vertical anges and said supporting plate being secured to the upper edges of the fvertical flange and ller plate.

6. A bumping post for installation on track rails, including in combination, divergent compression and tension members having their lower ends adjacent the rails, a bumper head supported by said members, a generally rectangular frame having longitudinal members and secured at its corners to the compression and tension members, said frame including longitudinal members, said frame also including thrust transmitting structure extending below the rails into engagement with rail supporting cross ties for transmitting the Iforce of impact to the ties and ballast, and means at each corner of the frame encircling the rail head for guidingly associating the post relative to the rails, each said last mentioned means including a supporting plate extending from the frame outwardly beyond the rail, and said frame including a boxlike construction `at each corner and said supporting plate being secured to the vupper edges of the box-like structure.

7. A bumping post for installation on track rails, including in combination, divergent compression and tension members having their lower ends adjacent the rails, a bumper head supported by said members, a generally rectangular frame located generally in the plane of the rails and seated upon the ties between the rails and secured at its corners to the compression and tension members, Asaid rarne including longitudinal members of right angled section arranged parallel to the rails and cross members of right angled section, said members being arranged with their horizontal flanges disposed inwardly and strengthening plates secured to the horizontal flanges at each corner, said frame also including thrust transmitting structure adjacent its front and rear ends extending below the rails into engagement with rail supporting cross ties Ifor transmitting the -force of impact to the ties and ballast, and means at each corner of the frame encircling the rail head for guidingly associating the post relative to the rails.

lRawie Oct. 6, 1914 Hayes May l1, 1948 

